7/22/18
Miles: 1599.7 to 1610.4
Trail Miles: 10.7
Miles Walked: 12.7
It was a warm night but I’d slept well camped on the lawn at the Hiker Hut.
The Hut is actually part of a B&B with a bunkhouse for hikers. The bunkhouse has a bathroom with shower, 4 bunks, a kitchenette, library, DVDs and outlets for charging electronics (the thing most important to hikers while in town). For $20, you can clean up and spend the night. Laundry is a few bucks additional as well as a ride back to the trailhead. It worked out to be around the same price as the city park and laundromat the day before, but without the concerns of hobos, stolen electronics or family reunions and evictions by the local police.
I went to breakfast with Smokebeard, Waterfall and Momento. While there we ran into Leon and NoNo, as well as Vision board and Walking Chi.
It was forecast to be in the high 90s again, so no one was in a hurry to get back on the trail. A near-o sounded good – we’d hike out in the late afternoon and log a few miles vice a complete zero.
I stayed at the restaurant, Bob’s Ranchouse, after everyone left, drinking iced tea and working on the blog. I moved to their outdoor seating area – they were used to hikers hanging out but I tipped the waitress extra for the inconvenience.
Smokebeard texted there was a ride back to the trail, leaving at 3pm. That was a bit earlier than we’d planned, so I hustled back to the Hut and packed up.
Trinity Alps, NorCal
I was back on trail at 4pm and passed the 1600 mile point shortly thereafter. Only 1052 more to go.
The PCT Complaint & Suggestion Dept
It was a hot climb from the pass, but tolerable. The trail went through a large burn area. It was recent, most likely last year as evidenced by the lack of re-growth and vegetation. Not even the manzanita had started to come back.
Recent burn area
I eventually made it to a campsite near a stream, on the edge of a burn area, around 8:15 pm. Smokebeard, Waterfall and Momento camped there as well. It was late as we all cooked dinner. I realized I’d been camping by myself the last 4 days. It was fun to talk, joke and laugh together.
